#language-preservation
7 episodes
#3716: The Linguistic Netherland: When No Language Is Native
What happens when your native language fades but you never fully master a new one? Linguists call it "semi-speaker" status.
#3476: When Hebrew Became a Living Language Again
The strange in-between period when a dead language was being invented in real time by children on playgrounds.
#2856: How Paleo-Hebrew Evolved Over Six Centuries
The Paleo-Hebrew script evolved through distinct phases over 600 years—here’s how scholars trace its development.
#1301: Beyond Yiddish: The Secret History of Jewish Languages
Discover the "linguistic blueprint" that allowed Jewish communities to thrive from Baghdad to Brooklyn through unique fusion languages.
#1147: The Cracks in the Monolith: Russia’s Internal Divide
Explore the internal fractures and cultural diversity of the world's largest nation. Is Russia a unified state or a collection of disparate pieces?
#1054: Why English Spelling Is a Disaster
Discover the "source code" of speech. We explore how the IPA maps every human sound, from English vowels to the complex clicks of Southern Africa.
#1043: The Last Monoglot: Why One Language is Better Than Two
Is the monoglot a language's ultimate guardian? Explore the tragic end of Irish Gaelic and the miraculous, engineered rise of modern Hebrew.